Chapter 200
Albert got up on Sunday and dressed without concentration, to the extent that he almost put his hat on his foot instead of his sock, due to his excessive thinking about the strange dream he had last night.
He went to see Hermione, who had taken her seat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, having breakfast with Ginny, Harry, and Ron. Albert had no appetite for food, so he waited until Hermione finished her breakfast, then invited her for another stroll in the school courtyard, where he told her about the strange dream he had last night. He saw himself being killed by an evil woman, whose features he could not clearly distinguish!
But Hermione told Albert not to take the matter seriously, especially since it was just dreams and nothing more, and she began to calm him down, telling him that it was just overthinking because of his upcoming task.
As soon as Hermione finished speaking, Professor McGonagall approached Albert and informed him that Professor Moody needed him.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione circled the lake three times together in an attempt to think of the simple charm with which they could defeat a dragon like the one they had seen last night in the forest with Hagrid, in order to help Albert win the first task.
But they did not reach anything, so they returned to the regular library instead. Hermione explored every book she could get her hands on that was about dragons or anything related to these creatures, and they sat together searching for anything among all those books.
Despite all these books that they read for hours, they did not reach anything until Hermione said, "No... he's back again... why doesn't he read what he wants in that strange ship?" She was referring to Viktor Krum, who had just entered the library and took a seat in a distant corner, with a large pile of books. She continued, "Come on, Harry... we'll return to the Common Room, his fans will be here at any moment..."
Indeed, as soon as they left the library, a group of girls burst in, and one of them was wearing the Bulgarian flag around her waist.
Albert met Professor Moody after leaving the Great Hall, and Albert said, "What is it, sir? I'm supposed to be going to study Herbology and..."
"Don't worry, Black... come to my office, please..."
Albert followed him, wondering what would happen to him now.
As soon as they arrived at Moody's office, he closed the office door and looked at Albert with both his normal and magical eyes before calmly saying, "What you did was a noble thing, Black." Albert did not say anything, especially when he looked to his left, and an unusually large black box was situated on the side.
Then Moody said again, "Sit down!"
Albert had visited this office with two of the people who occupied it before: one was Professor Lockhart, who covered the walls with his pictures, and when Professor Lupin occupied it, the most we expected was to see a new magical creature to train the students on... As for now, the office was filled with a strange collection of tools that Albert thought Moody used during his work in the Ministry of Magic.
On the desk, Albert found a glass basin with a spinning lid that he immediately recognized. He owned one of them. It was a Sneakoscope, and in the corner of the office, there was a small table on which rested a golden object that looked like a television antenna, and above it was a mirror-like object, although it did not reflect anything. Rather, dark shadows could be seen moving inside it, but they were unclear.
Then Moody, who was observing Albert, asked, "Do you like my tools?!"
Albert pointed to the golden antenna, saying, "What is this?!"
Moody replied, "One of the detection devices. It vibrates when there is lying or deceit... and of course, it has no use here, as amidst all these tricks that the students practice, it will keep vibrating all the time, as it is very sensitive and picks up these things from about a mile away."
Albert asked again, "And what is the use of the mirror?"
"Ah... it's the Enemies Mirror, and it allows me to see my enemies everywhere, and I don't feel danger until I see them approaching, and then I start using my other tools."
Then he gave a short laugh as he pointed towards a large box that rested under the window, which had seven openings for seven keys.
As soon as Albert focused on the black box, the box suddenly began moving left and right, and it began shaking as if an earthquake had struck the place!!
The box quieted down from moving and suddenly stopped in silence!!
Albert turned towards Moody and said, "You said the mirror detects your enemies!! Is there an enemy inside this box?!"
Moody was astonished after hearing what Albert said now. He had literally discovered his secret, as the real Professor Moody was inside the box.
But Moody did not want to expose himself, so he gave a false smile and said, "Hahaha, no, it's just a few cats I use for other experiments. Well, forget about it!!"
Moody changed the subject to ask Albert and say, "So... you know about the dragon and the first task?"
Moody smiled, saying, "I'm not accusing you, boy... I tried to convince Dumbledore to be more open and tell you about the task, but I bet Maxime and Karkaroff won't do the same as you. I am confident that they will tell their students everything. They want to win, they want to defeat Dumbledore, as they want to prove that he is just an ordinary person."
And he gave a loud laugh before returning and asking Albert, "Do you have any idea how you will perform this task?"
Albert answered him, "Yes!!"
Moody said, "What is it?"
Albert told him, "I can't tell you now, but you will see it with your own eyes on the battlefield!"
After Moody thought about Albert's strength, especially in his fight against Albert inside the forest of the Quidditch World Cup stadium, he gave a slight smile and said, "Well... I am confident you can do it!!"
. . . .
The day passed quickly, and the day for the champions' first task in the Triwizard Tournament arrived!!
The next morning dawned, and everything returned to what it was. The school was filled with an atmosphere of tension and excitement, and classes were suspended in the middle of the day to allow for the task to be watched.
Albert felt separated from everyone around him. He did not pay attention to the whispers of sarcasm from the Slytherin and Hufflepuff students that followed him, and time was moving very quickly, until the lunch appointment came, which Albert ate, and after that, he saw Professor McGonagall rushing towards him amidst a group of students, saying, "Black, the champions must head to the courtyard now... and you must prepare for your first task."
Albert said as he stood up, "Okay!"
Hermione followed her with her words, saying, "Good luck, Albert!!"
Albert waved his hand towards her, bidding her farewell, and finally left the Great Hall with McGonagall, who seemed to have the same anxiety as Hermione. She descended the front steps and went out into the cold mid-November air, then placed her hand on Albert's shoulder, saying, "And now... don't be afraid, and keep your composure. There are wizards who will take control of the situation if anything dangerous happens, and all you have to do is do your best. Are you alright?!"
Albert answered her, "Yes... I am fine, no need to worry!"
She was leading him towards the place where the giant dragon creatures had settled around the edge of the forest until the arena where the three giant creatures stood appeared. She pointed towards a small tent, then said, "You will go with the other champions, and... wait your turn. Mr. Bagman is there, and he will tell you the... he will tell you the steps... Good luck!!" ...
To be continued....